| This wine and food pairing blog was inspired by my husband, Ron. Almost every night, as we prepare dinner, he will look across the kitchen and ask, “What are we drinking tonight, honey?” As he knows, I like to complement even the simplest of meals with the appropriate wine. The blog intends to inspire others to purposefully pair wine with food by sharing examples of meals we have made, the wine we drank, and the story behind it. It will hopefully be an insightful, informative, and entertaining journey through my love for food and wine pairing. Tonight, it’s Spring Vegetable Pasta. Beaune Appetite. |  |
Spring Vegetable Pasta
Saturday, March 30th, 2024, the night before Easter, and although it is supposed to be spring, it certainly doesn’t feel like it today. It is rainy and cold and damp, but despite that, I decided why not make a spring vegetable pasta dish to get us in a Springtime mood. It is one of my favorite dishes.
This dish is easy and quick to make from the America’s Test Kitchen website. The ingredients include cheese tortellini, fennel, garlic, green peas, and spinach. After sauteeing the chopped fennel and garlic, you add chicken broth to the pan, which constitutes the “cooking water” for the pasta, which goes in next. Cook the fresh cheese tortellini till just about done, and then add the peas, a couple of handfuls of baby spinach, a splash of heavy cream, and some parmesan cheese. I serve it in bowls, and just before putting it down on the table, I throw some crispy prosciutto on top. Yummy!
Spring Vegetable Pasta and an Angel from Erede di Chiappone Armando on Susan’s Dining Table
Pairing with an Angel
Although simple, it has a somewhat complex flavor profile because of the vegetables, like the licorice flavored fennel, savoy spinach, and fatty cheese and cream. I decided I wanted to pair it with a white wine, but I knew it needed to be something with more body than a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. Given the cold and miserable weather, Ron was voting for a red, but I convinced him otherwise when he asked the usual, “What are you serving for wine tonight, honey?”
I decided to pull out a bottle of wine from the Piedmont region of Italy, where we had enjoyed a seven-day wine and truffle tour in October 2023. During our trip, we enjoyed visiting the Erede di Chiappone Armando winery and shipped several bottles back to our home in the States. The wine I selected for dinner is called “Angel,” a unique blend of Cortese (used in Gavi) and Favorita white grape varieties. I chose it because of its weighty, round texture in the mouth, nice acidity, and hints of citrus, pear, and apple, with just a touch of tropical fruit on the finish. It played well with the fat from the cheese and the bright vegetable flavors of the fennel bulb, peas, and spinach.
Erede di Chiappone Armando winery is located in the beautiful town of Monferrato in the Asti wine region of Piedmont. Eating this delicious spring pasta dish with their lovely wine brought us right back to that wonderful day we spent at the winery hosted by Daniele Chiappone and his family. We and our two traveling companions were served a homemade lunch while being attended to by Mama Chiappone and her husband. Daniele poured glass after glass of wine as we ate and told us about the grapes, vineyards, and his winemaking style. After lunch, we all headed into the vineyards for a much needed sobering up post-meal walk in the sunshine amongst the vines. What a memorable afternoon.
